Long Time Gone
by angelflutest
Summary: Three years ago Aidan saved a cat from certain death, now she's back running from vampires and helping ghost. How does she know what Josh is? And how will everything play out when she moves in with the boys? Joshxoc
1. Chapter 1

**Hello everyone!**  
**After finding this amazing show on Netflix, I decided to try my hand at a fic, I don't own anything except Ash.**  
**Please enjoy!**

Whimpering lowly as another kick was landed to my back, curling into a ball as tears formed.  
"Stop! Please!"  
Sharp fangs touching my shoulder before the three vampires were gone, opening my eyes to see a vampire with brown hair and brown eyes looking down at me.  
"I'm not going to hurt you."  
I growled at him before sitting up, flinching at the pain before standing up.  
"Why aren't you attacking me? We're enemies?"  
His smile never wavering.  
"We don't have to be, I'm Aidan."  
I looked down at his extended hand in caution before shaking it.  
"A-Ash."  
"I have a friend that could help you."  
I laughed.  
"I don't need help, but I wouldn't mind some company."

(Three years later)

I pushed my tired legs faster, the vampires slowly catching up as I dodged into some trees, only to collide with a tall figure I haven't seen in years.  
"Aidan? What are you doing out here?"  
I sighed, listening for a moment before dragging him behind a tree as the four vampires went racing by.  
"As popular as ever I see."  
"Shut up."  
He smirked looking down at me.  
"You look like hell."  
I rolled my eyes.  
"Yeah well, living on the street and running from vampires will do that to you."  
He quirked an eyebrow.  
"You're living on the street?"  
I rolled my eyes.  
"Yes Aidan, is that so hard to believe? I'm a stray cat, it's what I do."  
He sighed.  
"I have a house a few blocks away I share with a roommate, why don't you stay with us?"  
I blinked at him in shock.  
"Really?"  
He nodded grabbing my hand and leading the way down the street, yawning I covered my mouth as exhaustion slowly began to set in.  
"I only ask one thing."  
I laughed.  
"And what would that be?"  
"Get a job and help pay rent."  
"Deal."  
He nodded and pointed to a small, two-story, white paint and brick house.  
"That's it."  
"It's cute."  
He laughed while unlocking the door and showing me inside, my smile falling when the scent of a werewolf hit me before I spotted whom I assume to be Aidan's roommate. Hissing I turned to him.  
"You didn't tell me your roommate was a werewolf."  
He smiled at me.  
"Josh is harmless, Josh this is Ash, our new roommate."  
The wolf, Josh, looked less than amused for a second until he realized something.  
"How did she know what I am?"  
I smiled at him.  
"I'm a nekomata, I'll let Aidan explain what that is while I take a shower, where is it?"  
Aidan laughed and pointed upstairs.  
"I'm stealing some clothes, just so you know."  
I heard him laugh while I climbed the stairs, finding the bathroom I started a bath while listening to Aidan explain what was going on.  
"She's a nekomata , a cat, they keep the piece between vampires and werewolves, on the full moon you go through your transformation and she goes through hers. I saved her from some vampires a few years ago and again tonight. She needs a place to stay Josh, she can help us with being normal."  
I heard him sigh before saying it was okay. Stripping down I let my body relax as I settled into the bath tub, scrubbing my body and hair clean, watching the water turn from clear to red to grey to brown with all the dirt and grime. After deeming myself clean I dried off and pulled on the clothes I had stolen from Aidan, a black shirt that was way to big for me, and a pair of black sweat pants that I had to hold up as I walked downstairs, my feet light on the wood flooring. Reaching the bottom step the guys looked up at me.  
"Well, you look better."  
I stuck my tongue out at Aidan while taking a seat on the floor, slowly relaxing in my new environment. After talking for a few minutes I decided to go to bed, much to Aidan's amusement after he made another cat joke at my expense.

* * *

Hissing I walked into the kitchen as Josh was making breakfast.  
"I forgot, you're not a morning person."  
I hissed again before placing my head on the table listening as Aidan called Josh Julia Child as he dropped an egg on the floor.  
"Well, if you're alone in the kitchen and you make a mistake who will know?"  
I shook my head, deeming it was to early for this, seeing the lights flicker I looked around in curiosity.  
"What?"  
I looked over at Josh to see he was terrified.  
"Someone's in the house."  
Sighing I stood up, shaking my head as Josh pulled out a stirring spoon to use as a weapon.  
"Where?"  
"Upstairs."  
Aidan jumped up and started moving, only pausing when Josh stopped him.  
"Aidan, Aida. Wait, wait, wait! Shouldn't we call 911?"  
"You're a werewolf."  
"Yeah, occasionally."  
Walking upstairs I laughed as Aidan muttered something about a useless condition, turning into my room I smiled at the ghost in front of us, who obviously thought we couldn't see her.  
"Oh, ladies and gentlemen, the Bobbsey twins and their cat! I am God. I am everywhere. I drove all night just to get back home."  
I shook my head while Aidan spoke to her.  
"Are you trying to scare us with Bon Jovi?"  
That seemed to throw her for a loop.  
"You can hear me?"  
"Yes hon, we can hear and see you."  
I smiled at the ghost as I answered her question.  
"You went searching for drug change under the wrong couch cushions, lady. I'm calling the cops."  
"Josh."  
"What?"  
"She's a ghost."  
"Shut up."  
It took a minute for Josh to realize what we said.  
"You're a ghost?"  
The ghost started laughing and disappeared before reappearing.  
"Sorry, I don't totally have a handle on this. I'm Sally. Hi!"  
With that, Sally, disappeared again.  
"Crap!"  
Shaking my head I turned to leave.  
"Come on, family meeting downstairs so we can meet Sally."  
Leading the boys downstairs I took a seat on the couch, watching Sally in curiosity while Josh freaked out.  
"So, you—you—You've just been here since you."  
"Since I bit it? Pretty much."  
She giggled and I smiled, instantly taking a liking to her.  
"Six months of a one sided conversation, me ranting, people just walking though me. Oh! For a month, there was these vegans. Like, this isn't Burning Man. You can shower."  
"How did you die? If it's not too personal a question."  
I smiled back at Aidan before turning back to Sally.  
"No, not at all, especially since I have no idea."  
"At all?"  
"I remember going to sleep. I remember lying next to Danny, and I woke up and there was this. Anyway, you two gonna go all Twilight on each other at some point?"  
She looked down at me.  
"Except you, I don't know what to think about you."  
I laughed while Aidan spoke up in shock.  
"Excuse me?"  
"I know what you are."  
"How?"  
"Because it's all you guys ever talk about. I wanna be normal, but I can't, 'cause I wanna eat people, etc. It's ok. I'm cool with it! Believe me, the regular living are overrated."  
"So, wait. So, stop. Let me just get this straight. So you've just been watching us, right? Just going though our things?"  
Sally nodded.  
"Great, great. We're living with Sally, the peeper ghost."  
I looked up in shock as Josh took the seat to my left, where my feet had been resting, grumbling I pulled my knees to my chest.  
"Oh, relax. I can't even move dust. And I'm not a peeper…much. I would have that mole checked out. You were pre-med, weren't you? You should know that."  
Aidan laughed before sitting on my right, smiling I leaned back against him as he threw an arm over the back of the couch.  
"Well, I'm gonna enjoy this."  
"You were supposed to marry what's-his-face, weren't you?"  
"Danny, yes."  
I gave Aidan a confused look, he smiled and mouthed 'landlord' I nodded with an oh.  
"Right, so why don't you just go haunt him?"  
"Josh, just."  
"No, I mean, listen. I'm sorry that you're a ghost and all, but if you're gonna spend eternity with someone, shouldn't it be with the one that you loved or, you know, anywhere but here?"  
I kicked him lightly as Aidan spoke up.  
"I'm sorry. I wish I could say it's a blood-sugar thing, but Josh is rude all the time."  
"It's ok. Josh, I would love to leave."  
Josh pointed towards the door and I spoke up.  
"But she can't, bec—Right?"  
"Right."  
Aidan smiled.  
"You're not our first ghost."  
"So, how can you see me anyway?"  
I smiled at Aidan.  
"I'll let you explain that one."  
"Well, think of us as sort of different countries on the same continent."  
"Oh my God! That's beautiful, really. We're Africa. Ok, so about this whole leaving thing have you tried?"  
I sighed, wanting nothing more than to smack Josh for being an ass.  
"Obviously I've tried. I haven't been moping around the house, rattling chains, taking bubble baths. I would love just to open that door and magically walk back into the life that was ripped away from me."  
That shut Josh up, at least for now, until Sally started talking again and I felt like I was in a Lifetime movie.  
"I did have plans, you know."  
Aidan broke the awkward silence.  
"We got to get to work, and you."  
I smiled as he lightly pushed me off.  
"Go apply for jobs."  
I rolled my eyes as the boys stood up.  
"Yes sir."  
"It was great meeting you."  
I glared at Josh, smiling when Sally retaliated.  
"At least I don't masturbate to Nova!"  
Rolling back on the couch I started laughing.  
"Well, this has been an interesting morning."  
Sally turned to me.  
"You don't seem surprised by any of this."  
I smiled at her while standing up, realizing we were roughly the same height.  
"My kind are taught about everything as soon as we start learning the alphabet, I figured there was someone in here, just a matter of time till you could show yourself."  
"You sensed me, or whatever, when you moved in yesterday?"  
I nodded.  
"I'm going to go and get some new clothes, since I don't like living in Aidan's clothes."  
Sally laughed and followed me upstairs, watching as I changed back into my clothes from yesterday, wrinkling my nose at the smell.  
"Yeah, I think I'm going to toss these after today."  
Sally laughed, following me downstairs where I told her I would be back and she made the halfhearted comment how she'd be there. I might have been homeless, but I did know a thing or two about saving money and investing, Walking into my bank, smiling at the lady behind the desk, a woman that was used to seeing me the way I was, while the rest of the staff looked ready to call the cops.  
"Hello Miss Ash. What can we do for you today?"  
"Hey Mrs. Swan, I just need to look at my statement."  
"No problem."  
I smiled while she pulled up my account, printed it out and showed it to me.  
"That's all I needed, thank you."  
She nodded, telling me to have a nice day while I tucked my statement into my back pocket before moving on my way.

* * *

Eight stores, and five job applications later I was ready to head back to the house to unpack before having to worry about my transformation. Climbing the stairs, a smile on my face as I opened the door to find Sally crying on the couch and Aidan looking lost on how to comfort her.  
"What's going on?"  
Aidan shook his head before standing up and offering to carry some of my larger items, with a nod I let him grab a mirror and a couple of bags before following him upstairs.  
"I take it Sally misses Danny?"  
He nodded, looking around as I placed my bags on my bed.  
"Did a little shopping I see."  
"Well, I couldn't keep stealing your clothes."  
He nodded in agreement while I looked at my watch before sighing.  
"All right, I'll be back in the morning, keep the door unlocked, I don't have a key yet."  
"Be safe."  
"All ways am."  
Walking downstairs and leaving the house, ducking into the alleyway and disappearing into the woods, a light hiss escaping as bones popped and reformed, my back arching as I finally dropped to the ground as fur started to grow, with a scream I knew I was in for a long night.

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	2. Chapter 2

**Hello to my one follower!**  
**Enjoy the new chapter!**  
**Sorry it took so long to update!**

Waking up in a daze it took a few minutes to get my bearings, using my nose to find my clothes a few miles south. Happy to see I wasn't covered in blood I pulled on my clothes and walked back to the house, opening the door I was surprised to see Josh talking with Sally.  
"What happened?"  
He sighed.  
"I almost killed my sister."  
I made an oh sound before I noticed how excited Sally was.  
"What's with you?"  
"Danny's coming over."  
"What?"  
Josh and I shared a look of unease before running into the kitchen.  
"Aidan, why—why is Danny coming over?"  
"Sally really, really wanted to see him."  
Looking over at the sink I made a face at the black water.  
"Sorry."  
"Ok, am I the only one who thinks that Danny coming over is a tremendously bad idea. What if he sees you?"  
I sighed and looked at Aidan.  
"I don't care either way, I'm going to bed."  
He nodded while Josh continued to argue with Sally, shaking my head I climbed the stairs and attempted to go to sleep when there was an electricity spike, no doubt caused by Sally. Curling under my new comforter, instantly falling asleep.

* * *

Waking up I took a bath, with my new shampoo and conditioner, finally feeling clean and beautiful again before stepping out and drying myself off, just as I wrapped my towel around myself Sally popped in.  
"Damn it Sally, a little warning."  
"Sorry, sorry."  
Rolling my eyes I grabbed my blow-dryer and went to work.  
"What do you need?"  
"I just wanted to know what you were doing today."  
I smiled and motioned to my side.  
"My cat did something to my side, I'm gonna have Aidan look at it."  
"Oh."  
Shaking my head I turned back to the mirror, happy that my blonde hair was now clean and dirt free, the natural curl back, bright grey eyes announcing what I was, putting on some light makeup before walking to my room, Sally hot on my tail while I moved to change into a simple dark green sweater and dark wash jeans with simple silver flats before yelling my goodbyes and walking out the door.

* * *

"Can I help you?"  
I smiled at the nurse.  
"I was wondering if Aidan was here?"  
The blonde sighed and nodded, pointing me down a hallway, smiling I told her thanks before walking down the hall, the sterile smell of the hospital was hard to stomach. Finally I spotted Aidan at the nurses station talking to some redhead who didn't seem to understand Aidan wasn't interested. Shrugging I walked over and tapped his shoulder.  
"Hey."  
He smiled down at me.  
"What are you doing here?"  
"I was wondering if you could, help me with something?"  
He nodded, telling the girl he would see her later as he led me into an empty exam room.  
"What's wrong?"  
I sighed and lifted my shirt.  
"I think my cat either pissed something off, or did it herself."  
He nodded while looking at the deep claw marks and bruising skin, motioning for me to sit on the table.  
"So, who's the cute red head?"  
I giggled as Aidan sighed and grabbed a prescription pad.  
"I knew you were going to say something, she's just a new nurse, she's just being friendly."  
I started laughing while lowering my shirt.  
"Yeah, and she just wants to be friends, with all the batting of the eyes and flirty body language. You are not Josh, you know when a woman wants to get in those, unflattering scrubs of yours."  
If the vampire infront of me could blush he probably would have.  
"Take this to the pharmacy down from the house, I'll help you put it on when I get home."  
I stuck my tounge out.  
"You're just trying to get rid of me, fine, I can take a hint unlike your little nurse out there. I'll see you at home."  
He smiled as I hugged him and left the room, I thought about looking for Josh, but I figured the wolf couldn't handle it and decided to get whatever Aidan had prescribed me and go home.

* * *

After two hours of waiting I finally got my hands on my prescription, which turned out to be some sort of lotion, and started walking home, surprised to almost run into Josh on the way.  
"Hey you, how was work?"  
He sighed, looking like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders.  
"Long Ash."  
My smile softened a little at the wolf.  
"Hey, you know you can talk to me right? I know you haven't known me for very long, but I'm a good listener if you need to talk."  
He gave me another hard look before sighing and telling me everything that happened at work and about his sister asking him to go home with her.  
"Does your family know about you?"  
He shook his head as we reached the house, to find a guy I assumed was Danny, attempting to fix the sink as water spilt everywhere.  
"What the hell?"  
"It just happened! I don't know!"  
I looked at Sally who was just as frantic as Danny.  
"I just got upset. I'll fix it. I'll figure it out. I'll think happy thoughts."  
"I better call a plumber."  
I sighed, listening to the two would give anyone a headache.  
"Know what'll make me happy? Tell Danny to stop ignoring me!"  
Seeing Sally rush into the living room I sighed and moved out of the doorway while Josh tried to diffuse the situation a little.  
"Maybe we should just shut off the main line for now."  
"Yeah, yeah, I'll get it on the way out. I'm really sorry."  
I watched as Danny went to leave, pausing next to Sally before rushing out the door.  
"You really wanted to see him huh?"  
She nodded and went to sulk while Josh and I took a seat on either side of her.  
"I'm sorry."  
I smiled at Josh, who was obviously trying to make up for the other morning.  
"I guess it takes that "He doesn't even know I'm alive" thing to a whole new level."  
I shook my head at his poor humor.  
"Yeah. Maybe I'm not supposed to leave."  
I looked at her with concern while Josh tried to keep up.  
"Ok."  
"You saw it. Maybe he couldn't see me, but he felt something. How could I not pursue that?"  
"Because…you're a monster. And he's not."  
I rolled my eyes and took over.  
"Sally, sweetheart, I don't want to be mean, especially not to you, but you're a ghost, he's still amongst the living. It simply can't be done. Not unless he dies, but then there is no guarantee he will come back. That's why you shouldn't pursue it."  
She nodded, obviously thinking about what I said when Josh spoke up, still trying to make Sally feel better.  
"You know, I was engaged."  
"You were?"  
I tried to hide my smile as Sally and I both had the same reaction of disbelief.  
"I'll try not to take offence to your extreme shock."  
"And she doesn't know?"  
I leaned forward, Josh's personal life now catching my attention.  
"What would I say? I'm…I'm…What? It's a miracle I got to love her once."  
"You don't know how she'd react."  
Josh looked at Sally, reminding me of a kicked dog.  
"Sally the Ghost. That's asking him to swallow a heck of a lot, don't you think?"  
She shrugged.  
"I've been dead for 6 months with no sign of change. If he gets scared…if my feelings get hurt, if a white light appears and I walk into it. What's the harm in trying?"  
"You really wanna go through the pain….of losing him all over again?"  
I sighed, wanting to comfort Josh as he looked ready to cry.  
"I'm already dead."  
We sat in silence for a moment, shaking my head I stood up.  
"Well, I need a drink after that, Josh? You want one?"  
He nodded.  
"Please."  
I laughed and walked to the fridge to see we were out of beer.  
"Josh? How about we go out for drinks? We're out."  
"Um, sure."  
I grinned and walked back into the living room. Obviously I had missed something because sally was smiling at Josh, who was blushing.  
"Well, come on."  
He nodded and grabbed his jacket as we walked out of the house, as soon as the door was shut Josh's phone went off, he looked at the caller I.D. before rolling his eyes and answering it.  
"What?...I'm busy…So?...Why? Aidan, no. Just don't…Just…I'll be right there."  
I smiled as he hung up and looked at me.  
"So? To the bar?"  
I nodded.  
"Are and Aidan not talking?"  
He sighed.  
"It's nothing, just a little."  
I laughed as he trailed off.  
"I get the feeling if I get enough alcohol in your system you'll tell me what's going on?"  
"You wouldn't do that?"  
I dissolved into giggles as we walked closer to the bar, Josh stopped and was looking down one of the alleyways.  
"Josh?"  
I turned and followed after him as he was slammed against a wall by a skinny red head. Hissing I dug my claws into her shoulders and ripped her off of Josh.  
"Leave him alone!"  
She turned and hissed at me while Josh knelt down on the ground.  
"What are you?"  
I smirked when she tried to throw me off and it didn't work like it would have with Josh.  
"You're worst nightmare."  
She smirked and kneed me in my injured side causing me to drop in pain. Looking over at Josh I was surprised to see him and Aidan trying to stop the bleeding of a young girl, even I could tell she was going to die. Hearing sirens I flinched and looked up at Aidan as he pulled me up.  
"Ash, Ash, you okay?"  
I nodded.  
"Yeah, bitch just caught me in my side."  
"What's wrong with your side?"  
I smiled at Josh as the sirens became louder.  
"Something happened during the full moon."  
When the ambulance showed up we had to ride to the hospital and sit in the waiting room while the cops started an investigation. Some how I ended up sitting between Josh and Aidan, causing the two to talk over me.  
"So, this is it? It's over, isn't it?"  
"No."  
"They'll trace Cara to Rebecca and Rebecca to you."  
"We're spread so far. Our networks run so deep. This happens all the time."  
I looked over and my heart stopped when I recognized the blonde in the uniform.  
"That's not."  
Aidan nodded and I immediately leaned back trying to hide.  
"I didn't know he was in this city, why didn't you tell me?"  
Aidan sighed and looked at Josh for help, who glared at him and stood up and left us.  
"I'm mad at you."  
"I need to fix it, I'll be back."  
I sighed, being left alone in the waiting room, looking around I stood up and decided Josh was the least stable out of the three of us so I followed after the way he went. Smiling when he was headed back towards me.  
"josh? Hon what's wrong?"  
"I."  
I waited patiently for him to find the right words.  
"I told my sister I didn't want to see her, and that she needs to leave me alone."

**I hope you enjoyed the new chapter!**  
**I will update soon!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Back again!**  
**Hope yall are having a good holiday season!**  
**Enjoy!**

I laughed as Josh helped me carry the groceries home.  
"I said I could get it."  
"And who am I to disagree."  
I almost dropped my bag I was laughing so hard, some how Josh had managed to grab two of the bags leaving me with the lightest bag. Rushing ahead I moved to open the door for him.  
"Well thank you milady."  
"You are so welcomed sir."  
We laughed before we realized there was a ton of people in our house, turning we glared at Aidan.  
"Tell me you brought more coffee."  
I covered my mouth as Aidan grabbed the bags from Josh and started moving to the kitchen.  
"What? Wait, wait, wait! Who are these people?"  
"Oh yeah, my bad. Everybody, this is Josh and Ash. Josh, Ash, meet the neighbors."  
I waived awkwardly before quickly moving to the kitchen, quickly placing my bag down as I glared at Aidan while Josh voiced my annoyance.  
"You invited the entire neighborhood? Are you insane?"  
"What are we doing if we can't say hi to the neighbors?"  
"No one says hi to the neighbors anymore"  
"You know why? 'Cause we're the neighbors!"  
I shook my head and decided to mingle with the people, until Sally popped in and announced we were now part of the neighborhood watch, to which we turned and glared at Aidan. Who looked grateful when the meeting started before we had the chance to complain at him. Leaning against a wall I watched the girl in the front with mild annoyance as she explained we were going after a tagger.  
"Hi."  
I turned and smiled at the kid with brown hair.  
"Jesse."  
I shook his hand.  
"Ash."  
"So you live with Aidan and Josh?"  
I nodded.  
"Temporarily, yeah."  
He nodded and I quickly made a bs excuse to leave, not liking the new guy as I retreated to my room.

* * *

Hearing talking downstairs I sighed and got up, slipping on a bra and jeans I was surprised when I heard Sally laughing, curiosity got the better of me and I walked into the bathroom, shirt in hand, to see Sally shaking hands with a ghost wearing heavy guyliner and had a mullet.  
"So this is Sally's teacher?"  
My roommates turned to look at me, Aidan rolled his eyes and looked away while Josh looked a little longer before blushing and looking away, looking down I quickly pulled my shirt on muttering a sorry under my breath.  
"I think we can leave Sally to her own devices."  
I left the room in front of the guys and went downstairs.  
"Why are you so dressed up?"  
I smiled at Aidan while shoving my hair over one shoulder so I could pin it in place.  
"Believe it or not, I have an interview today."  
"Where at?"  
I smiled at Josh.  
"At the hospital, just a desk job, paperwork and such."  
They smiled and told me congratulations before I realized the time and quickly left, yelling I would see them later.

* * *

After a long interview process, the lady couldn't decide if I was a good fit or not and said she would call me with in the week. That was followed by an uneventful day, until Josh and I got stuck with the neighborhood watch a few days before the moon. Turning I glared while Josh called Aidan.  
"Hey, I just wanted to thank you, once again, for signing us up for the neighborhood watch. Oh, and then ditching last minute. Ash says you better sleep with one eye open."  
Josh hung up before nodding for us to sign in with the crazy 'leader' of the watch.  
"Hi. We're late. Sorry."  
Jesse practically jumped with joy when he recognized us.  
"Josh! Ash!"  
I nodded and Josh said yeah and shook Jesse's hand.  
"Hey, Jesse."  
"Right. That's a great shirt."  
The girl interrupted the awkward conversation by holding out a walkie-talkie and an armband.  
"Wow! We mean business, huh"  
"Yeah. Every 2 minutes, there's a sexual assault in this country. I pray to God one didn't happen while we were waiting for you."  
I raised an eyebrow at her as she smiled and said she was kidding, Jesse shook his head mouthing that she wasn't. Walking away I looked up at Josh.  
"Remind me to kill Aidan when we get home."  
"Gladly."  
"She's creepy."  
Josh looked glanced over at the girl handing everything out.  
"I think she likes you."  
I shuddered, causing Josh to laugh. Making me happy he was starting to relax around me. Finally we were put in groups, lucky us we got stuck with Jesse, who was trying his hardest to make friends with Josh as they talked about Josh's past, career wise, something I wasn't to interested in. Some how we ended up with Jesse and the strange girl that had handed us our walkie-talkies at the begging of the night at our place to watch a movie.  
"Alright kiddies, keep it quiet, I'm going to bed."  
Walking upstairs I sighed before falling onto my bed, relaxing and letting my eyes close before sniffing Sally as she appeared in my room.  
"What hon?"  
At her silence I opened my eyes to see her looking sad and annoyed.  
"What happened?"  
"He's a perv."  
"The ghost Aidan introduced you to?"  
She nodded and I sighed, sitting up slightly.  
"Josh mad a rebound comment didn't he?"  
She nodded again and I flopped back on the bed.  
"He's an idiot, you know that as much as I do. Now, I'm going to sleep, don't kill him."  
She laughed and nodded, watching as I finally fell into a fitful sleep.

* * *

I growled and tossed back another beer, not the classiest drink but it was the only thing we had, I had a few more days until the full moon, I had interviewed for five jobs and no one had hired me. To say I was depressed was an understatement, grabbing another bottle I was realized I had emptied a six-pack and would need to get more.  
"You okay?"  
I glanced at Sally before going back to my beer.  
"Nope. Are you?"  
She took a seat next to me.  
"Just lonely."  
"Join the club."  
She nodded, pulling her knees to her chest while watching me drown my sorrows. Hearing the door open we looked up to see Josh walking in from his petrol with Jesse, shaking my head I went back to my drink.  
"Where were you?"  
"Just keeping the streets of Boston safe for all the little children."  
"You ok?"  
"Yeah. Where were you? Oz fest?"  
"Danny's."  
I smiled at the two, watching how they interacted with each other.  
"I thought the whole point of this was to move on."  
"Don't worry. I guess I can live at Danny's now."  
I felt myself let a low whine out at the thought of Sally leaving us.  
"We don't want you to live at Danny's."  
"What if that's what I need to do to move on?"  
"Okay."  
Josh took the seat across from Sally and next to me, giving the empty bottles a look before going back to Sally.  
"Maybe you're not trying to move on. Maybe you're trying to stay."  
"If I leave, he'll forget me."  
"If you stay…he'll forget you. You're not here."  
She sighed and looked at me as I smiled at her, starting to feel the affects of the alcohol.  
"I'm lonely."  
"Me too."  
I sighed, slowly standing up to sway a little.  
"You guys are depressing."  
Josh smiled and stood up, catching me before I fell over.  
"Why don't we get you to bed?"  
"Nooo, I wanna see Aidan."  
Josh sighed and sat me back in my chair, causing me to giggle, a look of relief crossing his features when Aidan came home.  
"Good, you can deal with her."  
Aidan smiled and walked over to me as I began to sway in my seat.  
"Hard day?"  
I nodded.  
"No one wants ta hire me."  
He laughed and picked me up.  
"Come on, let's go to bed, before you get alcohol poisoning."

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**As always reviews are much appreciated but not mandatory!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Merry Christmas everyone!**  
**Enjoy the new chapter!**

Shaking my head I pulled on my clothes and walked back to the house, tripping a little when I entered the house.  
"Ash? You okay?"  
I shook my head at Aidan as I fell to the floor, holding my head as it pulsed with pain. Feeling a hand on my shoulder I looked up at my friend.  
"What do you need me to do?"  
"Water."  
He handed me a bottle, which was empty in five seconds, still holding my head.  
"I've never been in this much pain after a change."  
I heard Aidan sigh before placing his hands on my head, the pressure causing the pulsing to become worse, yanking my head away I hissed at him before apologizing.  
"I don't know, I must have ran into something…unfriendly last night."  
"Unfriendly? Maybe you and Josh had a run in?"  
I shook my head.  
"My cat would know by his scent, whatever it was it has her freaked out."  
He nodded and helped me stand up, keeping a hand on my back to keep me steady as we walked into the kitchen, Aidan helping me sit in a chair before handing me some orange juice. Sipping at it I heard Josh walk in, glancing over I noticed he was wearing an over sized white wife beater and some, interesting, sweatpants.  
"Why are you dressed like a douche?"  
"Because a douche gave me these clothes. No, sorry. A werewolf douche gave me these clothes."  
I shared a look with Aidan.  
"Seriously?"  
"I'm dead serious. Yeah, Ray. The werewolf. He's been watching me."  
I started laughing despite the pain in my head.  
"No."  
"Yes!"  
Josh sat next to me, going into a full on rant.  
"Just when I start to think that there's hope, like real hope for me to be just like everybody else. I wake up, and I'm in hell."  
"I'm in hell."  
We looked up at Sally as she walked in.  
"I died, and now I'm actually in hell."  
I sighed, taking another sip of my drink.  
"What happened to you?"  
"Aidan and I were just talking 'bought how I'm in hell but whatever. Let's talk about you."  
I smiled and patted his arm in comfort while he started drinking his own orange juice.  
"I just spent my night watching Danny and Bridget simper and swoon over each other. If I had bodily fluids, I'd spew all them right now."  
"Who is Bridget?"  
"My best friend who I've known since the third grade, who I now realize is also a brutal whore."  
I shook my head and turned my attention to Josh, who was still a little shaken, while Aidan talked to Sally, who finally sat on the counter and took a good look at Josh.  
"Why are you dressed like a douche?"  
"Josh met another werewolf."  
"Aw."  
"Who's stalking him."  
"Ew."  
Finally the two left and I looked up at Aidan.  
"Well, that explains that, I've heard about Ray, he's not the best of the wolves, but he can teach Josh."

* * *

Walking out of the house I decided to go for a walk, looking around at the city with calm eyes when a police car pulled up next to me. Pausing I looked at it as the driver rolled down the window, bending down I wasn't surprised to see Bishop looking at me.  
"Looks like the cat's back in town."  
"I never left."  
He smirked, about to say something when his radio went off.  
"Good to see you back, Ash, be seeing you."  
I growled as he pulled away from the curb and took off down the road with his lights flashing. Rolling my eyes I decided to head home. Ducking through an alley I hissed as I felt a pair of hands grabbed me, pushing me against the brick wall. Looking up I wasn't surprised to see two vampires looking at me, completely vamped out with black eyes and teeth barred.  
"Oh look, Bishop's men doing his dirty work for him. What do you want? I have stuff to do."  
"Bishop told us to give you a message."  
I rolled my eyes and started running, almost colliding with Aidan as I quickly found the house.  
"Hey, what's the hurry?"  
I blushed and looked away.  
"It's nothing, um, just ready to be home I guess."  
He gave me a disbelieving look before leading the way into the house to hear Sally talking about how she cockblocked Danny. Rolling my eyes I went into the kitchen, looking for something to eat while Josh handed Ray a crepe before quickly making me one. Smiling my thanks I dug into the food, listening as the boys teased Aidan about being gone last night.  
"Ray's actually a pretty decent guy. Um, he doesn't have a place to stay. I was thinking maybe he could stay here for awhile."  
I hissed lowly, not liking the older wolf.  
"Really? Because we hardly know him."  
Josh moved to sulk by the sink.  
"You're the one who told me to give him a chance. So, what? You two worried about having more than one werewolf in the house?"  
I dropped my fork, giving Josh a go-to-hell look.  
"And where is he going to stay? We don't have any more rooms."  
Josh smirked.  
"You could move in with Aidan."  
"What!"  
Aidan grabbed my shoulder to make me calm down.  
"Wait, hold on. Have you talked this over with Sally?"  
I stood up and walked into the living room, trying to get Sally's help, only to find Ray helping her push a strawberry with her finger.  
"I think she's cool with it."  
I growled and nodded.  
"Fine, the mutt can move in. And you can move my stuff into Aidan's room. All of it."  
Aidan smirked, knowing when I said everything I meant everything, including the bed.  
"Fair."  
I smirked and watched as he walked upstairs, me taking a seat on the stairs and watching in amusement as he started the lengthy process of moving my stuff, and there was a lot of it, into the room across the hall.

* * *

The weeks leading up to the moon was a living hell, I couldn't get a moments piece to myself, if I left the house I was surrounded by Bishop's soldiers, and if I stayed in the house I couldn't get away from Ray, the most annoying wolf on the face of the earth. Who also seemed to have no respect for what I was, every time I turned around it was an off colored cat joke that had me wanting to rip his throat off.  
"You know, if I run into you during the moon, my cat will kill you. She already hates your guts."  
Rey smirked at me, about to respond when Josh walked in, smiling at Ray.  
"Ready to go?"  
"Hell yeah."  
Watching the pair leave I sighed and relaxed on the couch, my senses on high alert as I laid out on the couch, opting to wait for Aidan to get back, who keeps disappearing and has lost his bed to me.  
"What are you doing?"  
"Sulking."  
Sally sighed, walking over and crouching next to me.  
"Why?"  
"My best friend is ignoring me, I can't leave this house without being surrounded by vampires that want me dead, I've had to reschedule two interviews and abandon one interview because of this. Josh is turning into a giant douche bag because of the douche that's living here. Pick one."  
She sighed, placing a hand on my shoulder, well tried to place a hand on my shoulder.  
"It'll be ok."  
I sighed and sat up, walking upstairs, yelling that I was going to take a shower. Every time I tried to take a bath or a shower Ray always walked in on me, so I was going to take his absence as my opportunity to take a nice long shower.

* * *

Wrapping my robe closed I wondered down stairs, my body shaking as the cold air hit my wet skin, stepping into the kitchen I paused when I saw Aidan and Ray only inches from the others face.  
"You picked the wrong time to screw with me Ray."  
"Boys, what's going on?"  
The pair turned and looked at me, Aidan taking a calming breath to regain his composure while Ray's gaze traveled my form and made me cross my arms over my chest in discomfort.  
"Ray dumped my blood down the sink."  
I sighed, taking a step forward.  
"The full moon is in a few days, and after that you will move out and never talk to any of us again."  
"How do you think your friend Josh will feel about that?"  
"I don't care, I have held my tongue, as a peacekeeper between two species, my word is law, so help you God if you don't leave this house after the full moon."  
Ray and I were in each others faces, me looking up at him, my eyes hardening as Aidan pulled us apart.  
"If I can't rip him apart in the kitchen, neither can you, go get some sleep."  
I nodded once, hissing lowly at Ray before walking upstairs, poking my head into Josh's room a light smile on my face as I noticed he was passed out, closing his door I went to my room and quickly fell asleep on my bed, curling into a tight ball as I tried to warm up. An hour later I wasn't getting very warm, so, in a blurry daze of sleep, wondered into Josh's room, slipped into his bed and curled up next to him, smiling when I felt him drape an arm around my waist before falling asleep in a sea of warmth.

**Hope everyone has a great holiday!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey y'all!**  
**I'm back!**  
**A quick shout out to Lyssa for reviewing!**  
**Enjoy the new chapter!**

Waking up in a daze, I looked around before I realized I was in Josh's room with no Josh. Sighing I stood up, wondering into my room to grab a blanket before wondering downstairs, smiling at Aidan as he handed me a cup of coffee.  
"Cat nip, really?"  
"I thought cats liked cat nip?"  
I rolled my eyes and took a seat on the counter, sniffing the drink while Aidan went to confront Sally about the latest disaster in the house. Looking down at the sink I made a face at the black water coming from the drain.  
"Sally, it's to early for this."  
She walked in and sighed, saying she was trying to stop it and that it wasn't her fault.  
"That'd probably be me, I just flooded the toilet."  
We looked up to see Ray standing in the entryway wearing a short, red robe that showed off more of the wolf than I ever wanted to see. As Ray reached for the refrigerator Aidan moved to intersect him.  
"I think that the fact that we are drowning in sewage is a sign you should be moving on."  
I smirked, taking a sip of my coffee.  
"I second that. You've been here for a month."  
Ray looked between us.  
"Yeah, I've got so much joy in me, not even your cadaverous mug, or your prissy feline over there can ruin it."  
He pushed past Aidan to open the fridge.  
"Mmm…ah! I'm starving after last night. There's nothing like a little late-night exercise to get the appetite going."  
Hearing footsteps I looked up to see Josh walking in with a blue trash bag in his hands, rolling my eyes I sneered at Ray.  
"I'm sure I don't wanna know what you're talking about."  
"There he is."  
I growled as Rey interrupted me.  
"Sleeping it off?"  
Sniffing the air I paused at the scent of blood, Aidan catching the same irony scent.  
"What happened there?"  
He pointed to Josh's knuckles, looking down I was surprised to see blood staining the wolfs skin.  
"Oh, that was just some…drunk idiots…being idiots."  
I sighed, knowing he was lying to us as Ray spoke up again.  
"They were baked, all bloated up. The city is hell, man."  
I tilted my head at Ray's choice in words; turning back to Josh it was obvious he was uncomfortable around the older wolf.  
"And this boy, with the puppy eyes, he's a killer. It's the shy ones you gotta watch out for."  
"The sinks, uh."  
I sighed, patting his shoulder lightly.  
"We know. Call a plumber."  
Josh shook me off and went to grab a juice out of the refrigerator. Aidan spoke up to try and figure out what happened last night.  
"I'll call Danny. Um, do you want a ride tonight?"  
Ray spoke up.  
"You're off the hook. Me and Josh are turning together."  
We looked at Josh with disbelieving looks, Josh looked at us before leaving the house. Smugly I turned to Ray while Aidan smirked in triumph.  
"Really? Hey, Ray… You sure about that?"  
He glared at us before rushing out the door after Josh, shaking my head I decided I had enough of being cooped up in the house. Sliding off the counter I went to get ready for the day.

* * *

Walking out of the house, I glanced around for a moment before turning on my heals and walking away from my home, keeping my eyes and ears opened incase one of Bishop's soldiers decided to attack me. After a few minutes I started to relax and enjoy my walk around the town, ducking into a few stores that had 'Now Hiring' signs in the windows. As I reached downtown I sniffed the air, quickly realizing I had managed to find Bishop's little hide out as I looked up at the giant brick building.  
"Funeral Home, that's original."  
I shook my head and continued walking when I heard a door open behind me, pausing I glanced over my shoulder to see an unstable Aidan stumbling out.  
"Aidan?"  
I gasped as he looked up at me, deep bruises covered my friends face and neck.  
"What happened?"  
Running over to him I started checking on his wounds.  
"Was it Bishop?"  
"Don't worry about it Ash."  
"Answer me Aidan."  
He sighed, looking down at me while leaning against me as we walked away from the funeral home.  
"Yeah."  
"What's wrong?"  
"He wants vampires to come out, to announce to the world that we are real."  
I sighed, shaking my head as we slowly made our way to the house, the pull of the moon starting to take its toll.  
"Don't you guys have a counsel? That protect your secret?"  
He nodded.  
"I don't know what's going to happen, if it gets worse, you'll have to step in."  
"I know."  
As we looked up at the house Aidan stood up strait and looked down at me.  
"Go on, I'll be ok."  
Hugging my friend I sighed once before nodding and letting him go before disappearing down the alley way next to the house, dodging into the woods, as I pushed my body faster, the change crashing into me with enough force to send me doubling over in pain. Clawing the ground I gasped before jumping up and running again, disappearing further into the woods than normal.

* * *

Hearing screaming I woke up with a start, looking around for a moment before sniffing the air, realizing I was about a mile from my clothes. Shaking my head I stood up and started walking, keeping my head down as I walked.  
"Ash?"  
Looking up I blushed as Josh ran over to me, moving my arms I tried to cover myself as he got closer.  
"Here, here."  
I smiled as he handed me his jacket, nodding my thanks I gently took the offered clothing as the wolf turned around so I could pull the warm jacket on.  
"Thanks Josh."  
He turned around and gave me a goofy smile, his eyes taking in my now covered form causing me to be grateful that the jacket just barely covered everything that needed to be covered.  
"Help me find my clothes?"  
He nodded as we started walking.  
"So, where's your running buddy Ray?"  
My wolf sighed next to me as I hopped over a fallen branch.  
"He's gone."  
"Good, he wasn't good for you my friend. You were turning into a bit of a douche."  
He laughed as we finally found my clothes, turning around he gave me some privacy to change. Quickly pulling on my clothes I smiled and pulled his jacket closer around me as we started our trip back to the house.  
"You know what we're going to do tonight?"  
"What's that?"  
He smiled at me.  
"A nice family diner."  
I laughed as we finally reached the city limits.  
"Sounds good, as long as you cook."  
His smile grew before he started laughing as we finally reached the house. Walking inside I smiled at Sally and Aidan before disappearing upstairs to take a shower. Stripping out of my clothes, I started the water before turning to evaluate the damage from the night, quickly noticing I had a few scratches around my face but the rest was mainly dirt and derby from my nights run. Stepping into the hot shower I sighed and started the long process of scrubbing the dirt off my skin, my sensitive ears picking up Josh and Aidan leaving the house. With a heavy sigh I turned off the shower and wrapped my pink towel around my body before stepping out, smiling at Sally as she appeared.  
"You ok sweetie?"  
She nodded while following me to my/Aidan's room.  
"I remembered how I died."  
"Oh?"  
She sighed while looking at the floor as I pulled on some pajamas.  
"I dropped my ring down the drain, Danny got mad and shoved me down the stairs."  
I sighed and looked at my friend.  
"I'm so sorry sweetie."

* * *

Laughing lightly I took my seat at the table next to where Josh was planning to sit, listening as the wolf called our roommates to the table, walking back he took a seat next to me. Sally and Aidan looking at him like he was crazy.  
"You do remember that neither of us eats, right?"  
"Well fake it, you know, do what all the anorexic girls in my high school used to do. Push your food around, nibble, pretend to chew, whatever. I don't care. We are all sitting down to a hot, delicious meal together."  
I laughed as the pair joined us at the table, I mumbled thanks as Josh cut some turkey and placed it on my plate. I smiled as Aidan chewed a peace of Asparagus, watching as Josh looked up causing Aidan to roll his eyes saying it was divine. Josh laughed saying thank you as I dug into the food, not surprised by how addicting it was.  
"See, this is nice, it's been…well never since we all shared a meal together."  
Sally and I laughed at Josh while Aidan made a comment.  
"You're right! Thanks mom."  
Our laughter died down as Josh looked at Sally.  
"Aidan told me. I'm so sorry. Do you"  
"There's nothing more to say."  
I focused on my food as the air thickened around us.  
"Aidan."  
Everyone looked up at Josh again.  
"How was work? I didn't see you on the shift today."  
Aidan smiled and shook his head, succeeding in killing Josh's good mood.  
"Ok then."  
Finally after a few minutes Sally decided to try and lightened the mood.  
"So, what happened with Ray?"  
"Ray's gone."  
Aidan spoke his concerns.  
"And the other night, those, uh, degenerates you rolled?"  
"That's gone too…Oh! Fun tidbit. Turns out that Ray is the one that did this to me…He made me what I am."  
I gasped and looked at my friend.  
"You're kidding."  
"Are you ok?"  
"Oh yeah, I'm awesome. I'm incredible. I mean, who wouldn't wanna meet their were-dad?"  
We started laughing while going back to our meal.

* * *

Sneaking into Josh's room I crawled under his blanket, turning to face my wolf as he looked at me.  
"Are you really ok?"  
I barely whispered to him as he smiled at me, his hand reaching out to cup my cheek lightly.  
"I'll be fine, why are you always sneaking in here?"  
I laughed lightly, scooting closer to him as my legs brushed against his.  
"You're warmer than Aidan, I'm a cat, I like to be warm."  
He raised an eyebrow as I snuggled against him, closing my eyes and relaxing as he wrapped an arm around my waist and maneuvered his arm under my head. Listening as the wolf finally relaxed and fell asleep.

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